TM(Advertisement)
Tube City Community Media Inc. is seeking freelance writers to help cover city council, news and feature stories in McKeesport, Duquesne, White Oak and the neighboring communities. High school and college students seeking work experience are encouraged to apply; we are willing to work with students who need credit toward class assignments. Please send cover letter, resume, two writing samples and the name of a reference (an employer, supervisor, teacher, etc. -- not a relative) to tubecitytiger@gmail.com.
Ads start at $1 per day, minimum seven days.
Family, Activists Seek Justice for Shooting Victim
Mother asks whether suspect, 16, has been offered lesser sentence
By Vickie Babyak
The Tube City Almanac
March 13, 2022
Posted in: Crime and Police News
A rally will be held at 9 a.m. Monday in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse to support the family of 18-year-old Dontae McKenith.
Family members and Take Action Mon Valley are trying to draw attention to McKenith’s death on July 24, 2021, after police said he was shot by 16-year-old Phillip Payne on Soles Street in the city.
Payne was charged with criminal homicide and a firearm offense. But family members said they’ve heard that Payne may be allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a lighter sentence — possibly as little as three years in prison.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office has not confirmed whether Payne has been offered a plea bargain. A hearing in the case is scheduled Monday.
McKenith’s mother, Marie McBride, said she asked Take Action Mon Valley for assistance after learning that Payne was released from jail and placed on house arrest.
She said she wants to see Payne be held accountable for his crime.
“Phillip Payne ran away after shooting my son and he could not be located,” said McBride. “It took six hours for him to turn himself in to police and the weapon was never found.”
Allegheny County police said the two boys were handling a handgun when Payne pointed the gun at McKenith and pulled the trigger. McKenith was pronounced dead at the scene.
TAMV held a press conference on Thursday near the McKeesport police station. Fawn Walker-Montgomery, the group’s co-founder and executive director, asked whether race was a factor in Payne being offered a lighter sentence.
Payne is white, while McKenith was Black.
“I know Black youth who are spending more time in jail for lesser crimes,” Walker-Montgomery said.
McBride said Dontae McKenith turned 18 just a few weeks before his death and that he was looking forward to his high school graduation and possibly enlisting in the military.
Her son liked video games, art and built Lego models, she said, describing him as “a good kid.”
In addition to Monday’s rally, TAMV is asking the public to call the district attorney’s office and Allegheny County Police and demand that Payne not be allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges than homicide.
“There should be hard time,” McBride said at Thursday’s press conference.
McKenith’s “life matters. He was a son, a brother, an uncle, a cousin, a friend and a loved one and his life matters,” Walker-Montgomery said Thursday. “It does not come down to two to four years” in jail, she said.
Updates will be posted on TAMV’s Facebook page, she said.
Vickie Babyak is a photographer and freelance writer from Dravosburg. She may be reached at vbabyak@yahoo.com.
Originally published March 13, 2022.
In other news:
"’60s Farce Returns La…" || "County Plans Online C…"